Saturday

WOONSOCKET — If any high school anywhere in the United States is entitled to rest on its laurels when it comes to hockey, it’s Mount St. Charles Academy.

But that’s never been the Mount way.

With high school hockey in decline — the good old days aren’t coming back, sad to say — the Mounties are charting a different course. To its credit, the school is shooting for the moon with the introduction of the Mount St. Charles Hockey Academy.

As school president Alan Tenreiro put it at the hockey program’s media day last week, “After years of success at the state level, Mount St. Charles is going national.’’

With new U14, U15, U16 and U18 teams starting with the 2019-2020 season, Mount will be aiming for a new level of championship than they’ve been accustomed to winning and winning and winning — 44 times — since Brother Adelard Beaudet dropped the puck 100 or so years ago.

Coaches Bill and Dave Belisle led Mount to incredible heights in the high school ranks over the last four decades, and the school plans to continue to field a high school team. (Keep an eye on how much pushback there is from the Interscholastic League.) Now the Belisles are passing the torch to Matt Plante and Devin Rask, the new directors of hockey operations.

Mount couldn’t have found better men for the job. "We’re getting two incredible people to mesh with the Belisle family,'' said Peter Belisle, Bill's son and the longtime coach at Division III UMass-Boston.

Plante and Rask played a pivotal role in the rise of Connecticut's South Kent Selects Academy, which the Mount program is modeled after.

In April, Plante guided Selects Academy’s U18 team to the USA Hockey Tier I national championship. That’s the kind of success Mount has its eyes on.

“Our goal is to compete to get to the nationals in year one, whether that’s one team, two teams or all four teams. We expect all of our teams in year one to compete to have that opportunity,’’ said Plante, who will coach Mount’s U18 squad.

Details of the ambitious new program were disclosed at media day and it was apparent from talking with the alums on hand that the pride and passion that has made Mount so great for so long is a guiding force.

The support from alums and from Tenreiro, in his second year as president, is “mind-blowing,’’ says Woonsocket native Brian Boucher, who played 13 seasons in the NHL after the Philadelphia Flyers drafted him in the first round in 1995, the same year Mount classmate Bryan Berard was the first overall pick.

“I’m thrilled. I’m excited. I’m anxious. All of those things. This is a great thing for the school. It’s a great thing for the community,’’ said Boucher, who is Mount's strategic adviser for hockey operations.

Loads of work lies ahead, with recruiting players at the top of the list. The coaching staff has hit the road to scout players and will continue to make the rounds throughout the fall and winter.

“It’s not going to be easy, but we’re up to the task. We’ll get there,’’ said Plante. “We’re looking for the best candidates that will be a good fit for Mount St. Charles, whether it’s from the U.S., Canada or overseas. We’re looking all over.’’

Sixty of the 80 players on the four Mount teams in the first year are expected to be boarders (at $45,975 per year), Tenreiro said. Housing arrangements will be nailed down by November.

Building a new rink is also on the to-do list, but there’s no timetable yet.

“The master facility plan shows that we can fit a double sheet on campus without really losing anything,’’ Tenreiro said. “Is it a partnership/lease deal? Is it outright donations? Is it a developer that understands how this facility will be a real revenue generator?’’

The reboot at Mount coupled with a new rink has the potential give hockey in Rhode Island a shot in the arm, which it could use. Instead of leaving the state for prep or junior hockey opportunities, players will have a new option close to home.

“We expect to be one of the best programs in the country and we want the Mount name to continue to be talked about in the hockey world. We’re building on an amazing legacy here and we’re excited to get going,’’ said Rask, an All-American at Providence College.

Time will tell, but I like Mount’s chances for success with Plante, Rask and company. The glory days of high school hockey may not be coming back, but that doesn't mean there aren't good times to come.

Said Peter Belisle: “I think Brother Adelard is looking down on us now and smiling.''

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